


Prompt thing #1

by grimmsmeatsticks



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Awkward Flirting, M/M, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-24
Updated: 2015-09-24
Packaged: 2018-04-23 04:15:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4862753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grimmsmeatsticks/pseuds/grimmsmeatsticks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Obligatory coffee shop AU where Pike keeps coming into Boyce’s cafe.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Prompt thing #1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm doing a prompt thing over on tumblr and it was meant to be just for a couple of friends, but now I feel like it could be fun to start sharing if anyone's interested. :)

_There he is again_ , Phil thinks to himself with a small smile. He doesn’t even need to turn around to confirm who just stepped into his bakery. It’s 07:45 and he only has one customer that likes to come in this early. Because technically he opens at 08:00, but he likes unlock his door a little sooner to catch any coffee-starved early birds, or just the one. 

Phil runs a hand through his hair and puts on his very best smile before he turns around to greet the man with the captain stripes on his jacket. 

“May I help you?”

-

It’s 11:27 and Phil is getting ready to handle the pending lunch rush.

At 11:28 exactly the entrance door pings and the man walks in. It’s always at 11:28. Phil wonders if he has some kind of alarm set to make sure he gets out the door at precisely the same time every day, timed perfectly so he gets here just a few minutes before the main lunch crowd pours in. 

Again he turns to greet him with his sweetest smile. 

“What can I get you?”

“What do you have?”

Phil’s smile never fades as he carefully lists every sandwich option and the best sellers in the pastry section, and the more obscure treats he only makes a few of each day. It doesn’t matter that the menu is all over the screens on the wall behind him, or that everything is beautifully displayed in the glass counter, with little tags that clearly state what each tray contains. It means nothing that Phil is asked this question every single day or that the captain always ends up ordering the exact same thing he ordered the day before, and the day before that, and every day going back to the first day he walked into the cafe. Nor does Phil care that an impatient line is forming behind the man. This is their daily dance and he refuses to rush it. 

-

At 15:00 Phil is ready again, and again glancing eagerly at the door every two seconds in anticipation. The captain will show up sometime between 15:00 and 16:00 (never a minute sooner, never a minute later) to get a quick coffee to go. 

A double shot of café Cubano cut with a spoonful of steamed almond milk. Organic. 

It’s not on the menu but the captain has ordered it enough times that Phil has it memorized, and yet he knows that the guy will come up to the counter and politely ask if Phil minds him ordering something custom, and continue to act like it’s the very first time he has set foot in here. 

Phil never minds and always takes the time to make sure every step of the process is done flawlessly. Not necessarily how it’s ‘supposed’ to be done, but exactly how he knows the captain likes it. That’s all that matters. 

- 

It’s 19:57 and Phil is cleaning up after what should be the last customer of the day. He closes at 20:00 and no one ever comes in this close to that. Well... except one guy. 

It’s two minutes to closing when the captain walks through the door for the fourth time that day, like every day. He always looks so tired at this point, and always orders chamomile tea, and he always asks if it’s alright for him to sit down to drink it. 

Phil always smiles and always says that he can stay if he’s quick about it. 

The captain always takes his tea and moves to a table that overlooks the entire cafe, and pulls out a book. A real book, not a reading PADD. And the first thing Phil always does is to go over and flip the door sign to ‘closed’ to make sure that no one else comes in. 

He takes his time doing the till and cleaning the display counters. He works slowly while filling up the dishwasher and packing up the unsold food that he will take with him to the homeless shelter that’s two blocks from his cafe. Every now and then he glances over at the captain who is always too engrossed in his book to notice when his tea cup has emptied and it’s time to leave.

Phil doesn't ask him to leave, either. Instead he offers him a refill on his tea, even if he doesn't even have a free refill policy, or, on the days that the captain looks especially troubled, Phil will make him a martini from the bottles he keeps behind the counter as his own, private end-of-work reward for stressful days. He doesn't have a liquor license, so he gives it to him on the house, and the captain always gives him a rare, little smile that makes Phil feel like he just cured all of the man’s troubles. 

It used to take him half an hour to clean everything away and close the place up. After the captain started showing up, however, Phil rarely gets out of there before 22:00. Some days, he makes up random tasks or wipes down all the surfaces a second time just to draw it out a little longer. 

However, the inevitable always comes and Phil swears the captain always looks just as disappointed as he himself feels when he has to interrupt his reading to tell him that it’s time to go home. 

The captain always gathers up his things quickly and takes his cup back to the counter, but then he always waits for Phil to take the cup into the kitchen and get his coat. The two of them always walk out together, and the captain always stands with him as Phil locks up and sets the alarm. 

Then there’s that lingering moment of loaded silence before the captain says goodnight and leaves. 

Phil turns to go in the other direction, and every single night he swears to himself that tomorrow he’ll invite the guy to walk home with him... or at least ask for his name. Tomorrow, or one day. Some day.


End file.
